{{Short description|Pain management based on distraction}} {{notability|date=March 2019}} '''Counterstimulation''' is a treatment for pain based on distraction.
A basic example is the practice of rubbing a fresh bruise, so that attention is paid to the sense of touch and pressure, rather than to the pain of the injury.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lalkhen |first=Abdul-Ghaaliq |title=An Anatomy of Pain: How the Body and the Mind Experience and Endure Physical Suffering |date=2022 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-1-9821-6100-2 |edition=1st |location= |pages=27 |language=en |oclc=1259047857}}</ref> Liniment and "medicated" products containing menthol work in the same way, producing sensations such as heat or cold or strong odors.
Counterstimulation can also be applied to a remote part of the body.
Pain control can also be achieved by the use of electronic media, such as television or virtual reality.
==See also== * Counterirritant
==References== {{Reflist}} * [http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?counterstimulation A definition of counterstimulation] * [http://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/vrpain/ Virtual reality for pain management]
Category:Medical terminology